Air Canada Vacations

Before you leave Canada

Entry requirements

A valid Canadian passport is required for Canadians intending to visit France. The passport should be valid for at least the expected duration of stay in the country. For all other nationalities, consult your consulate or tourist board for details. You can also visit www.voyage.gc.ca for up-to-date information.

Baggage

Please refer to aircanada.com for baggage information.

Airport check-in

It is recommended that you present yourself at the airport counter of the airline indicated on your voucher 3 hours prior to departure. Air Canada or Air Canada Vacations representatives will be available starting at 5 a.m.

During your stay

City highlights 

Blessed by a sunny, temperate climate, Nice attracts visitors from around the world to the Mediterranean shores of France’s famous Cote d’Azur.

Among its many attractions are its beautiful beaches, lovely seaside promenade, interesting museums and famous landmarks.

Nice has a total of 19 museums and galleries, 32 historical monuments and hundreds of parks, gardens, woodlands and green areas in addition to 150 lakes and fountains.

Getting around

On foot

Nice is a great walking city but you can always just choose to relax on the beach or at an outdoor café.

By bike

Nice is extremely bike friendly and is the perfect destination for any cycling enthusiast. During the peak season (June-August) the long stretch of concrete boardwalk alongside the Promenade des Anglais teems with bikes of all sorts.

Taxi

The taxi situation in Nice can be a little complicated. Make sure you check the meter when you enter the taxi and insist that it remains on throughout the journey. Fares are generally quite expensive.

Buses

Buses provide tourists with the best option for getting around Nice, with the Sunbus running to most points of interest within the city as well as from the airport to the main bus station. The Sunbus is the main form of public transportation in Nice and services run to destinations throughout the city. The main station for the Sunbus is Station Centrale in square Général Leclerc and buses run from there to the railway station (Gare Nice Ville) and Vieux Nice. Tickets are valid for one hour once stamped. Daily and 14-trip tickets can be purchased as can a Nice by Bus pass, which is valid for one, five or seven days and includes a return trip to the airport. Sunbus tickets are available at tabacs (tobacconists) and Sunbus kiosks.

Rail

Trains arrive at Gare Nice-Ville, avenue Thiers (www.voyages-sncf.com). From there you can take trains to Cannes, Monaco and Antibes, with easy connections to anywhere else along the Mediterranean coast. The train station has a small tourist centre, open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you have a long wait, you can eat and even shower at the station.

Shopping

Nice is a great city to shop for clothes, shoes, jewellery, stylish house wares and gourmet specialties.  Old Town and Cours Saleya are famous for their fruit and flower markets. There are many souvenir shops and one-off boutiques in this area as well as cafés, bars and restaurants.

The Avenue Jean Médecin, running from the Place Masséna up through the centre of the city has many of Nice’s main shopping spots. There you will find the usual selection of shops and services selling clothes, jewellery, sporting goods, and more. Half way up the Avenue Jean Médecin is Nice's modern mall, the Nice Etoile, which contains several floors of boutiques and shops as well as FNAC (tech-gadgets) and Habitat (interior décor).

The Nouvelles Galleries, on the corner of the Place Massena, is the largest department store in the area. The store offers bilingual (French-English) service and can process tax-free purchases for visitors from outside of the European Union.
 
For serious designer shopping, turn into rue Paradis off rue Masséna, back toward Place Masséna. There you will find Chanel, Armani, Hermès, Max Mara, Sonia Rykiel, Louis Vuitton and more. The staff at these stores is generally friendly and helpful; even if you are just looking.

The ideal time to shop in Nice is during the sale seasons, which occur twice a year, in January and July, and run for about six weeks. The sale dates change every year and are set by the French government. Shops in Nice are usually open from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with some shops closing for lunch. Nearly all shops are closed on Sunday. In December, the department store, Galeries Lafayette, is open on Sunday for Christmas shopping. It’s worth a browse as it is great for clothes, bags, hats and jewellery as well as for a bathroom stop (hidden away on the 2nd and 3rd floors).

Dining

Thanks to a roaring tourist trade and great weather, Nice boasts a dizzying number of restaurants, snack bars, ice-cream parlours, cafés, bars and pubs.

Le Château and "The Rock," located by the harbour, is where the restaurants are inexpensive and the bouillabaisse is delicious. Authentic Niçoises restaurants live in Vieille Ville, the old town, beginning at the foot of "The Rock" and stretching out from Place Masséna. The old town is a maze of narrow streets, many of them teeming with local life. Some, including the rue Masséna, the rue Droite and the rue Pairolière, are reserved exclusively for pedestrians. On these narrow streets, you'll find some of the least expensive restaurants in Nice. Try la pissaladière (an onion pizza), or socca (a crêpe made with chickpea flour) from one of the local vendors.

Sightseeing

Promenade des Anglais stretches for about 6 km. along the beach. It’s full of restaurants, cafes and hotels.

In the east, the promenade becomes Quai des Etats-Unis and is lined with some of the best restaurants in Nice, all specializing in bouillabaisse. Rising sharply on a rock is a site known as Le Château, the spot where the Ducs de Savoie built a castle, which was torn down in 1706. All that now remains are two or three stones.

At the north end of Le Château is the famous old graveyard of Nice. Famous for its lavishly sculpted monuments, it's the largest cemetery in France and the fourth largest in Europe.
Visit the Marché aux Fleurs, the flower market at Cours Saleya. The vendors set up their stalls Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in summer and from 8 a.m. until between 2 and 4 p.m. in winter. Carnations, violets, jonquils, roses, and birds of paradise can all be found there.

Nice's commercial centre is Place Masséna, famous for its pink buildings in the 17th-century Genoese style and the Fontaine du Soleil (Fountain of the Sun) by Janoit. Stretching from the main square to the promenade is the Jardin Albert-1er, with an open-air terrace and a Triton Fountain. With its palms and exotic flowers, it's a very relaxing spot.

Nice has numerous museums, such as the Musée Matisse and Musée Terra Amata as well as a vast number of art galleries, many of which are to be found in the charming and picturesque streets of Vieux Nice. Antiques lovers will enjoy the port district and stores such as Ginac and Rometti. Architecture adepts shouldn't miss the Palais Lascaris and the Cathédrale Sainte Réparate

Entertainment & nightlife

Nice has some of the most active nightlife along the Riviera and evenings usually begin at a café. Pick up a copy of La Semaine des Spectacles, which outlines the week's happenings.
If you find yourself in Nice during February, you can't afford to miss the Carnival, one of the most famous after Rio and Venice. Let yourself be swept along in the joyous procession of fantastic floats, brass bands and clowns tottering on stilts.

Every year, Nice stages some fantastic music festivals including a Jazz Festival and Religious Music Festival. Nice also has a splendid and very active Opera house.

Your departure from destination

Hotel checkout

Hotel checkout times may vary depending on the property but generally you must vacate the room by 12 p.m. (noon).

Duty-free shopping

After an absence of 7 days or more, Canadian residents are permitted to return with a maximum of 750 CAD of merchandise per trip without paying duty. Each time you leave Canada for at least 48 hours, you are eligible to declare up to 200 CAD of merchandise. A written declaration may be requested. Each adult is allowed 1.1 litres (40 oz.) of liquor, 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or cigarillos, 200 tobacco sticks and 200 grams (7 oz.) of manufactured tobacco. To calculate the number of days absent, do not count the day you left Canada but include the day you return. If you include cigarettes, tobacco sticks and loose tobacco in your personal exemption allowance, only a partial exemption will apply. You will have to pay a minimum duty on these products unless they are marked “Canada-Duty paid.” Canadian made products sold at duty-free shops will be marked this way.

Customer care

For inquiries relating to extension of stay or change or hotel changes, please e-mail us at: prevoyageclientele@vacv.com We are at your service seven days a week; from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST Saturday and Sunday.